SWEEPING CONCLUSIONS
A few days ago I picked up a copy of Atlantic magazine (December 2009) and read the cover story "Did Christianity Cause the Crash? How Preachers are Spreading a Gospel of Debt." (downloadable at www.theatlantic.com). The title is featured prominently on the cover. I anticipated a well written article, especially in a publication as prestigious as the Atlantic. Instead I encountered a rambling description of the popular health and wealth gospel that promises money and prosperity to those who put their faith in Jesus. The author attempted to argue -- unsuccessfully in my opinion -- that the current worldwide economic crisis stems from the sermons of preachers mostly residing in the southern United States.
Perhaps writers, preachers, professors, politicians and talk show hosts have always pushed their opinions with loose logic, sweeping oratory, and debatable "facts." Some are more careless than others but at times all of us are guilty of promoting our opinions with weak arguments. It's true among counselors and coaches who criticize their competitors or who try to support the effectiveness of their own work with smooth words that hide sloppy thinking.
Consider these examples. Much of the Atlantic article builds on the conclusion that a high rate of foreclosures occur in communities where there are a high number of prosperity gospel preachers. This is the old, simplistic assumption that when two items occur in proximity, then one probably causes the other. Furthermore, the article mentions prominent preachers but builds mostly on the example of church members from one Latino church in Virginia. A sweeping, cover-story conclusion then arises from a few case histories.
Some of us have a tendency to do the same. We use correlations in an effort to support cause-effect conclusions or we try to prove the effectiveness of our work by generalizing from a few case examples. Effective speakers, researchers, and mental health practitioners know better. Sadly the use of slippery logic still appears among too many contemporary communicators, including counselors, coaches and maybe teachers who should know better.
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